Family Matters
by Link-luvr
Summary: Oneshot. Link feels like he's missing something at this special time of year. This fic contains a homosexual relationship, please do not read if offended. Based after OoT


Author's note: Hello boys and girls. I think it's been...potentially a few years since I've written something properely. Ever since going to uni I haven't had the time to write anything. And now... well I still don't have time but I'm making time.

I've been itching to write something for a while, but never had the time or ideas. So this is...a little something. It's probs not very good but I fancied doing something light and cheerful(ish) and xmas based, even though I'm a bit late.

So, without further ado, I give you this little oneshot and I hope you all enjoy it :)

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><p><strong>Family matters<strong>

'_There is no greater love than that of a family.'_

The words reverberated in his head as he gazed out over his land, deep blue gaze briefly alighting on building tops and walls, dancing from tree to tree as they swished, moving at the whim of the wind. The sunset that was falling over the land of Hyrule was glorious as always, the sky a deep purple as the glowing orb slowly disappeared behind the Kokiri forest, the tress appearing ablaze with the light.

Link sighed dropping his head and letting his eyes shut briefly, as night settled around him, candles in houses creating warm golden glows in thinly paned windows.

He lifted his head. Hyrule was well into its winter season, the coldest months still yet to come and it seemed to Link that this would be a particularly harsh winter. He couldn't remember the last time he hadn't felt a nip in the air, couldn't remember the last time he woke up without fern like frost patterns spread over the house. He supposed it wasn't so bad, but at this very point in time, the last thing he felt like was having to deal with the cold. A glance up at the sky, revealing gathering snow clouds, informed he that he had best move if he didn't want to get caught out and he turned to the ladder behind him, sliding down the side of Kakariko's watch tower.

It wasn't really the weather that he had much against. In truth, it was the concept of staying out on a night like this, so close to the festival. It was an annual tradition in Hyrule, that when the winter came, a great festival would be held across the land. It was created for people to find happiness in the cold and hard winter, to find light in the dark, as it were. A theme which matched the decorations. At a time when the only colours in the world seem to be black and white and grey, people went to great pains to remind themselves, and others, of the more lively colours.

Scanning the village as he made to depart, took note of the decoratons. The sails of the windmill had been wrapped with coloured ribbons, blue, red, green and purple cloth spinning slowly, their colours made brighter by torches mounted onto the wall behind them. Houses were draped with similar colours, torches burning on every corner.

Link shook his head and made his way down the sets of steep steps, heading past the lonely tree that was nearly over encumbered with its decorations. The homeless man who usually sat under it was, for once, nowhere to be seen. He idly wondered what had happened to him, where he was. The Hylian recalled that he was related to the builders who had built the archery range and considered that maybe his father had forgiven him, just for now and let him back into the warmth of a family home.

Because that was what this season was truly about. The celebration of family, a time to come together and be glad. To have something to look forwards to.

The hero frowned at the thought, pulling the fur cloak around his shoulders tighter as a particularly strong wind hit him, wisps of snow carried on it. He had no true family, his mother and father having passed away when he was just an infant. It wasn't something he usually dwelt on. They were gone, always had been as far as he was concerned and although he knew that his parents must have loved their only son, he couldn't bring himself to say that he loved them back. They were just shadowy figures of a past he didn't remember. It would probably have shocked people to know he thought that way, but...he couldn't help his thoughts.

But despite the fact he could muster no love for the parents he had never known, seeing families with their loved ones always made him feel like he was missing out. He wanted to know that love. He wanted to have his father look at him and smile and tell him he was proud. He wanted his mother to coo over him, to clean his face and tell him to eat his dinner before it had got cold. These familial festivals made him want what everyone else complained about when it came to their families. The arguments, the annoyance, the overly clichéd scene of a couple and their children opening gifts on a snowy winters morning, the family dog lying by the fire, chewing on a bone.

A couple passed him by as he walked under the sign that welcomed everyone to the growing hillside town, smiling in greeting and recognition of the young blonde. He nodded in response, noting the woman's hand on her swollen abdomen, guarding the unborn child she carried, the contentment on the expectant father's face.

By the goddesses this season made him soft. Not to be cynical, he thought, but as soon as they were inside, she would probably be complaining to him about her back aches, while he tried to warm a freezing cold house, his temper growing as she whined.

He shook his head. They seemed like a nice couple. He shouldn't be so cynical, so unnecessarily pessimistic.

The snow was falling in earnest now, settling onto the pointed tips of his ears and he shook his head irritably, dislodging it as he began his descent of the steps, returning to the frosty plains of Hyrule field. It was probably only five o'clock but the prematurely dark sky had him feeling like it was midnight, and it was making him want to get home. He hurried down the steps, his thoughts returning to that of the family he never had.

He wondered what it would have been like, growing up with his mother and father, the son of captain of the guard. He could imagine it. Walking into his house to see his mother standing by the fire, cooking the evenings meal, his father sitting on a chair, fixing yet another thing that had been broken by his son.

It was clichéd and twee. Overly sweet and sentimental and at any other time of the year he would have simple shrugged it off as something he had never had, pay his respects to the long dead parents he couldn't love and move on with his life. But now... he craved it, to the point where his heart gave an empty thud, his brow furrowing in grief, in longing for the unconditional love he had been deprived of. He felt the faintest sense that he missed them, remembering how the Deku tree had told him of his mother. Her struggle to save her crying infant child, the one she knew would save Hyrule. The one that her husband was being slaughtered on the battle field for, red blood spilling over hard ground.

A sob suddenly wracked his chest and Link choked it back. He wondered what his father's last thoughts were as he fell at the hands of a Gerudo warrior. Wondered if his mother had felt her lovers death, felt the moment the blade struck him and the life evaporated from his body. He thought of her, what she must have felt for himself, the strength of the love she must have held to drag herself into a place that would kill her, just to save him.

The tears came suddenly, before he had even noticed them forming and they were falling freely as he continued on down the steps, the image of Epona waiting for him becoming blurry, as the stinging in his eyes grew more intense. He hit the bottom step with a hard exhalation of breath and nearly collapsed onto the waiting mare, his face pressed into her mane as he shuddered with the force of his emotions.

It took him a while to regain control of himself, to force his mind into a more function state and he pulled away from the mare, roughly wiping at his face with the sleeve of his undershirt before clambering onto Epona's back with the sudden urge to get home. She seemed to understand his urgency and turned, almost without guidance, towards the castle town, working up into a gallop quickly, hooves hushed by the snow building up on the ground, slowing as she crossed the little stone bridge over the river, the cobbles slippy under hoof.

Link felt her rushing on and lifted his head, clearing his eyes as snow whipped past him, his eyes focusing on the torches mounted outside the castle walls, their bright red colour blazing in the darkness. He recalled that at this time of the year Zelda had the guards add powders to them that would cause them to burn a different colour and he slowed Epona as they approached. Admiring the colour as she moved over the drawbridge, passing beneath the high grey walls.

Ahead, the town centre was quiet, people having retired to their houses in the darkness and he stopped Epona to look about the town.

The fountain was somehow still managing to flow, despite the temperature getting close to freezing. Candles had been set on the wall that encircled it, their lights shining on the surface on the water, the rippling effect casting colour onto the white walls of the town. Bells and coloured parchment draped from market stalls, trails of evergreen plants wrapped around columns, brightly coloured ribbons twisted anywhere they could be fit into. It brought a slight smile to Link's face and he sniffed, thinking about his parents again.

They were gone, and that wouldn't change, no matter how much he had suddenly realised they meant to him. But if there was one rule Link had always stuck by it was to respect the past and embrace the future and hope for better things to come. As he spurred Epona onto the castle, he turned his thoughts to the future.

He would never have children himself, or at least, he severely doubted it, but he wondered what he would have been like as a father. He wasn't fond of children as a rule, he found them somewhat selfish. Years of growing up with a child race and then returning to them as an adult had rammed the differences between adults and children home to him. He supposed that was the prerogative of a child, to be selfish, carefree. Adults got frustrated by it but he guessed that parents saw themselves in them, and it reminded them of their younger days, when life was easier, when you had so few troubles and responsibilities in the world.

That was the attraction of having a child. Creating something that was carefree, creating something that was joyous and then watching them grow, watching them become successful.

The gates of Hyrule slowly rolled open at the command of a guard as Link approached and he nodded appreciatively to him.

"Evening, Sir." The guard greeted. Link smiled, recognising the voice as that of the guard who used to be stationed in Kakariko. The one who had blocked him from death mountain and laughed when he presented him with Zelda's letter. At the time, the younger Link had been offended. Now, he understood and it struck him that this was the guard he had given the keaton mask to for his kid.

"Evening, Thane."

"You're late out, sir, if you don't mind me saying."

"Needed some time to clear my head. Castle gets a bit stuffy this time of year."

The guard nodded knowingly.

"A bit hectic too, no doubt, what with all those preparations for the festival."

Link smiled.

"Tell me about it."

"Ah, I know all about it, sir. It's bad enough at home. Wife wants the decorations up and the children," he snorted "well the children aren't children anymore. Not content with those masks these days."

Link laughed gently.

"Well, a lot of time has passed between then and now."

"Aye, my son is thinking of signing up. He wants to be a guard too. Thinks its all action and adventure. He's getting a bit of a handful, in all honesty."

"Prerogative of youth."

The guard smiled.

"You're not so old yourself, sir. But...tell the truth, I wouldn't have my son any other way. Wants to make something of himself and that's a good aspiration. I'll see he manages it."

Link's head dropped for a moment before he lifted it again, smiling wistfully.

"Do you have the day of the festival off, Thane?"

"No sir, still on duty."

The younger man paused.

"...I'll have a word to Garrus about seeing if you can have it off."

"Thank you kindly sir, but it's no trouble."

"You should be with your family."

"As should we all, sir. I don't want to deprive any other man of his chance to spend the day with his family."

Link nodded.

"True, true. Well...try to enjoy it anyway."

"Will do, sir."

"Nice speaking to you, Thane."

The guarded nodded once more.

"You too, Link, sir."

The blonde smiled and nudged Epona in the sides, moving her forwards and the gates slid shut behind them smoothly. He considered Thane's outlook and thought to himself that there should be more people like that in the world. Some of the younger guards would gripe about having to work on a festival day, despite not having children to care for or wives to help out. But Thane valued his family no matter what.

The drawbridge to the castle lowered as Link headed up the path to the large grey building and he dismounted quickly once he was within the walls, a groom running up to take care of the mare and stable her for the evening.

He passed into the castle without a word, making his way through the winding grey halls, up the stairs to his personal chambers, slipping boots off with a sigh and collapsing onto the bed with a sigh, thoughts of family playing through his head and it wasn't long before he found himself drifting to sleep.

It was some hours later when he awoke, finding a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"Link?"

His eyes opened blearily as he tried to locate the owner of the voice. He rolled over onto his back.

"Enjoy your nap?"

Sandy blonde hair came into view, a pair of dark red eyes watching him from beneath the strands.

"Sheik..."

"Glad you can recognise me."

The Hylian sat up, his vision clearing. The Sheikah settle beside him on the bed in return, a tanned hand moving to smooth Link's sleep-messed hair into place.

"Are you ok?"

Link met his partner's concerned gaze.

"I'm fine, why?"

"It's not like you to come home without coming to find me or Zelda. The guards reported you had returned."

"I was just a little tired, that's all Sheik."

"Really?"

"Of course," Link snorted defensively, not really wanting to talk about his day just yet "why wouldn't I be?"

"Well you appear to have been crying for one." Sheik stated, pulling the white mask that covered his mouth and nose down. Thin lips were pressed into a frown.

Link started a little, wondering how the Sheikah knew. Admittedly he had an annoying habit of knowing that kind of stuff but...it had been hours. It was only when Sheik reached over to stroke his cheek that he realised there were tears clinging to it. He must have been crying in his sleep...

"I..."

"What's gotten you so upset? This isn't like you, Link."

Blue eyes turned to meet red, memories floating through his head as he looked at his lover and fragments of a dream drifted into thought.

His parents.

"It's..." he sighed "the time of year, I guess."

Sheik tilted his head, looking at his partner quizzically. He had met Link many years ago when Ganondorf had held sway over Hyrule and he had guided the Hero through it all, spurring him on, pushing him to victory. In that time, they had come to appreciate each presence so much that it had eventually turned into a relationship. One that not everyone accepted readily.

But in all those years, throughout the struggles with Ganondorf, he had rarely seen Link cry. It wasn't his style. As gentle and kind a person as Link was, he didn't get overly sensitive.

"But you love this time of year...the festival, the lights, the food..."

Link remained silent and the Sheikah slid closer, pulling his partner into his chest, feeling somewhat awkward. He still didn't know fully how to deal with this side of Link. This exposed emotion.

"I...I just felt...feel like something's missing."

"Such as...?"

"My parents."

Sheik pulled away slightly. This was unknown territory. Link had never mentioned his deceased parents before and when the topic had come up on occasion, he had never seemed overly bothered. He had accepted it remarkably well... but something had obviously triggered Link into thinking about them.

He tightened his grip on Link again, pulling him back into his body, the Hylian's forearms wrapping around the older blonde's back, his head resting on his shoulder.

"What's set this off?" He asked quietly, as if he were afraid that speaking too loudly would upset the Hylian further.

Link shrugged.

"Not sure, just...I never knew them. Never thought about it before now, never gave it the time of day. I've never had that family that you're supposed to celebrate at this time... and it's not like we're ever going to have children to share it with, is it?"

"I see your point, Link," a bandaged wrapped finger found its way to Link's chin and gently tilted his head upwards "but you're not alone."

The younger man smiled weakly.

"I know. You are my family, but..."

"You never got to feel that love from your parents."

Link nodded.

"It's stupid, I know. I have you, I have all the love I could want or...possibly cope with, quite frankly."

The Sheikah gave an amused snort.

"But it's not the same." Link finished.

Sheik nodded, gently releasing Link from his grasp. The Hylian looked at him, confuse registering on his face.

"I need to go and do something Link. Try to get some more rest. Sleep might help you feel better." He turned to leave.

"Sheik! I didn't..." he reached to grasp at Sheik's hand.

"Link, you needn't worry. I don't doubt your feelings for me, I'm just going to find a way to help you." He lifted the outstretched hand, kissing the back of it gently.

"Rest," he repeated, before sliding his hand free of Link's and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"He's upset about his parents?" Zelda asked, looking up from a small pile of forms she was attempted to sort through.

"Apparently so, he mentioned family a number of times, and I think their...lack of presence has finally hit him." Sheik replied

"It was bound to happen," Zelda sighed, dropping her quill and leaning back into the uncomfortable wooden chair she was sat in. "He's never really faced it before. It's probably just been building up in the back of his mind all these years."

"Perhaps so, but, with all due respect, your majesty..."

"Zelda." The queen corrected, an eyebrow raised at her friend "Honestly, Sheik, you know I don't like you giving me that 'official' address."

"My apologies, Zelda."

She smiled, almost sarcastically, in response.

"You were saying?"

"Well...why he's feeling this way is not so important as how to stop him feeling that way. We cannot do anything about his parents and...well, although it was mentioned, I doubt having a child and feeling any sort of affection from that in twenty years when it finally comes to respects its parents is really going to help..."

Zelda lifted an eyebrow.

"Or is going to happen in the first place." Sheik added as an afterthought, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Zelda watched him, her expression changing to one of amusement.

"Well, Sheik, I would think it's quite simple."

"Is it?"

"Of course. We can't bring Link to a family, so we bring a family to Link."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning," she stood turning to look at Impa, her old nursemaid who still watched over her "Impa, how many appointments do I have for the day of the festival?"

The older Sheikah looked confused for a moment.

"Only three, my lady."

"Do they concern anything significant?"

"Not particularly. A few discussions about maintenance of the castle grounds and such."

"Good," the queen responded "cancel them."

"My lady?"

"My duty, as Queen of Hyrule, is to watch over my people and to help and protect them. Link is one of my people and he requires some help..."

_The day of the festival_

Link awoke with a start, a loud from down the hall jerking him from his sleep and he groaned, rolling over to look at the ceiling, left arm reaching out to grab at Sheik...only to find the space next to him empty.

Confused, the Hylian wiped his eyes free of sleep and sat up. It wasn't unusual for him to wake up alone, Sheik got up obscenely early but usually only when he was working. And he had promised Link he was going to have the day of the festival with him. He frowned, staggering up from the bed and heading over to the double doors that led out to the balcony, pulling a thick robe around his shoulders as he did.

Pulling the doors open was, as it turned out, a bad idea. The snow that had fallen overnight had piled up onto the outside of the door, blown by the wind and was now scattered over the bedroom floor. Link grumbled under his breath, wincing as he took a step out onto the balcony, his feet sinking into cold, crunchy snow. He looked out over the view his balcony offered, the town spread out below him covered in a sheet of white, dotted with the colours of the festivals decorations. Glancing up at the sky, he tried to guess the time, failing when he realised the sun was obscured by cloud. He sighed to himself again and turned to go back into the room, hearing the door to the corridor open.

"Link?"

"Out here Sheik."

The Sheik padded through the room, finding Link standing barefoot in the snow. An odd expression that was a mixture of amusement and confusion made its way onto his face before he shook his head.

"Well come back in."

The Hylian complied, joining the Sheikah inside the room, scraping snow off his feet and shutting the doors behind him, finding Sheik's arms winding around his waist as he did. A second later and his lips were met with a surprisingly amorous kiss. He pulled away a moment later.

"You're in a good mood."

"I promised you a good day today, did I not?"

"You did but..."

"So let me start it off with a bang for you." Sheik interrupted pushing the younger man towards the bed.

Link gasped, collapsing into a sweaty puddle on the bed, Sheik curling up behind him at a more leisurely good pace, kissing the Hylian's shoulder gently.

"Was that a good enough start to the day?"

"Uh-huh." Link panted in agreement, turning to face his lover, watching how the long sandy blonde hair fell over his shoulders.

Sheik smiled.

"Good," he replied softly, following the statement with a gentle kiss "Now get up." He stood up from the bed abruptly.

"Eh? But...Sheik..."

The red eyed man turned to smile at him. "Trust me, come on."

Link nodded, scurrying to get dressed alongside Sheik. He wasn't given a moment to catch his breath, Sheik whisking him out of the room as soon as he was decent, guiding him down the castle corridors to...

"The library?" Link questioned "You brought me to the library?"

The Sheikah merely smiled secretly again and motioned for Link to enter the room.

He did so slowly, pushing heavy mahogany doors open, being greeted with the warm glow of firelight. Curious, he stepped further into the room, the spicy smell of cinnamon washing over him as he did, candles with multicoloured flames burning quietly on the hearth. And there, sat in the middle of the room, on a thick fur rug in front of the fire were the people in the world he cared about most.

Zelda looked up as Sheik stepped in and closed the door behind himself and Link and she smiled widely.

"And a happy festival to you, Link."

Link looked perplexed for a moment before registering the other figures sat on the carpet with her and his eyes widened as he took in the familiar faces of people that he had not seen for years.

Saria was the first to greet him and within seconds he found himself surrounded, Darunia, Malon and Ruto crowding in around him.

Sheik pushed himself forwards through the small huddle of people to his lover and they retreated settling back onto the carpet. Impa and Nabooru were sat with them two, looking up at the two men.

"You wanted to see your family," Sheik offered "I can't bring your parents back, Link...but I can bring the people who think of you as family together."

The Hylian didn't respond for a minute, his gaze almost blank as he looked as his partner...and then a wide grin spread itself across his face. An almost crushing hug enfolded Sheik a moment later and then he was released, Link plopping himself down onto the rug next to his family. The Sheikah settled down beside him as Link regarded all the people before him.

"So," the Hylian started "How've you all been?"

The group rolled their eyes simultaneously. Such an anticlimactic comment for such a touching moment... but that was the Hero of Time they all knew. Whether he was their brother, or lover, or best friend, this was the man they had come to know as a family member.

Link smiled as the group broke into conversation.

Sheik was right. Here and now, he had his family.

And that was all he needed.

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><p>So that's that. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to try and get back into writing and bring some new longer pieces out soonish - or at least at my next holiday. I might branch out into doing some new stuff. I've fallen in love with some new games like Mass Effect and Deus ex: Human revolution but I will continue writing my Link X Sheik stuff as always.<br>Hopefully see you all soon :)


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